SpaceX Drops Lawsuit Against Air Force

January 28, 2015 9:55 PM

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Last year, the space technology company SpaceX sued the U.S. Air Force over what it saw as an unfair practice; the USAF gave a “sole source” (uncompeted) contract to United Launch Alliance for a series of rocket launches for national security satellites. SpaceX said it had earned a right to be at the table to bid for such contracts. At the time, though, the problem was that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets had not been rated and approved for such missions.

The disagreement appears to have been settled: SpaceX has dropped the lawsuit, and for its part the USAF has agreed to help “complete the certification process in an efficient and expedient manner.” It’s also agreed to open up future launches to competitive bids while still maintaining existing cont...